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The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was during the First World War, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area. It appears to have been little used, and was abandoned when peace came in 1918.

Surfaced runways were constructed in 1941, with the main runway (04/22) being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries at 1,300 yards (12/30) and 1,400 yards (16/34). Another 100 yards was added to runway 16/34. Hardstands for thirty-six aircraft were built, along with two T-2 and a B-1 hangar. One T-2 was on the technical site, the other hangars to the east across the Mildenhall-Brandon road (A1065) were reached by taxiways.[citation needed]

Lakenheath was used by RAF flying units on detachment late in 1941. The station soon functioned as a Mildenhall satellite with Short Stirling bombers of No. 149 Squadron dispersed from the parent airfield as conditions allowed. The squadron exchanged its Vickers Wellingtons for Stirlings late in during November 1941. After becoming fully operational with its new aircraft, the squadron moved into Lakenheath on 6 April 1942 and remained until mid 1944 when the squadron moved to RAF Methwold in Norfolk.[2]

Taking part in more than 350 operations, more than half mine-laying, No. 149 Squadron had one of the lowest percentage loss rates of all Stirling squadrons.[citation needed] One Stirling pilot, Flight Sergeant Rawdon Middleton, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for valour on the night of 28–29 November 1942, when despite serious face wounds and loss of blood from shell-fire during a raid on the Fiat works at Turin in Italy, he brought the damaged aircraft back towards southern England. With fuel nearly exhausted his crew were ordered to bail out.[3] Middleton was killed when the Stirling, BF372 OJ-H, crashed into the English Channel.[citation needed]

In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, forty Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.[citation needed]

No. 149 Squadron ended its association with RAF Lakenheath the same month, taking its Stirlings to RAF Methwold.[2] Between them, the two squadrons lost 116 Stirling bombers in combat while flying from Lakenheath.[citation needed]

The work entailed removal of the existing runways and laying new ones comprising 12 inches of high-grade concrete. The main runway (07/25) was 3,000 yards long; the subsidiaries, 01/19 and 14/32, both 2,000 yards; all three being 100 yards wide. Part of the A1065 road between Brandon and Mildenhall was closed, and a new section built further to the east on the Warren. During the peak period of construction, over 1,000 men were working on the site; yet instead of the 12 months planned, it took 18 months for the ground work alone and ​21⁄2 years before Lakenheath's transformation was complete. The cost was nearly £2 million.

By the time construction ended the war with Germany was over and RAF Lakenheath was put on a care and maintenance status.

Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946. In November, President Harry S. Truman ordered Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-29 bombers to RAF Burtonwood in Lancashire, and from there to various bases in West Germany as a "training deployment". In May 1947, additional B-29s were sent to the UK and Germany to keep up the presence of a training program. These deployments were only a pretense, as the true aim of these B-29s was to have a strategic air force permanently stationed in Europe.

In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.

On 27 November 1948, operational control of RAF Lakenheath was transferred from the Royal Air Force to USAFE. The first USAFE host unit at Lakenheath was the 7504th Base Completion Squadron, being activated on that date. The squadron was elevated to an Air Base Group (ABG) on 28 January 1950, and to a Wing (ABW) on 26 September 1950.

Control of Lakenheath was allocated to the Third Air Force at RAF South Ruislip, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England. The Third Air Force was subsequently placed directly under USAF orders, with SAC establishing the 7th Air Division Headquarters at RAF Mildenhall. The collocation of the two headquarters within the United Kingdom allowed HQ USAFE to discharge its responsibilities in England, while at the same time allowing SAC to continue in its deterrent role while retaining operational control over flying activities at Lakenheath.

On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group. By 1952, a high security perimeter fencing was erected. The 3909th moved to RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire during 1954, and was replaced by the 3910th Air Base Group.

Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter, 1951

Known SAC units which deployed to RAF Lakenheath on temporary duty (TDY) were:

Many SAC Squadrons had aircraft at Lakenheath on a transitory basis without any recorded deployment to the base. For example, in January 1951, a detachment of Convair RB-36D Peacemaker intercontinental bombers from the 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Travis AFB, California arrived for a few days, and various tanker and transport aircraft also made periodic appearances at the base. Several of the temporary detachments included in-flight refuelling tanker aircraft.

A near nuclear accident occurred on 27 July 1956 when a B-47 bomber crashed into a storage igloo at Lakenheath containing three Mark-6 nuclear weapons while on a routine training mission. Although the bombs involved in the accident did not have their fissile cores installed, each of them carried about 8,000 pounds of high explosives as part of their trigger mechanism. The crash and ensuing fire did not ignite the high explosives and no detonation occurred. The damaged weapons and components were later returned to the Atomic Energy Commission. The B-47 involved in the accident, which killed four crewmen, was part of the 307th Bombardment Wing.[7]

Following French president Charles de Gaulle's insistence in 1959 that all non-French nuclear-capable forces should be withdrawn from his country, the USAF began a redeployment of its North American F-100-equipped units from France. The 48th TFW left its base at Chaumont-Semoutiers Air Base, France on 15 January 1960, its aircraft arriving at Lakenheath that afternoon. When the first F-100D touched down on Lakenheath's runway, the landing symbolised a return for the Statue of Liberty Wing. Almost 16 years had passed since the Second World War Ninth Air Force 48th Fighter Group's arrival at RAF Ibsley, England, for the D-Day invasion.

In conjunction with this transfer, control of Lakenheath was transferred from Strategic Air Command back to USAFE. As SAC elements began their departure, the 3910th Air Base Group began its transition of handing Lakenheath's facilities and real estate over to the 48th's Combat Support Group elements.

The tactical components of the 48th TFW upon arrival at Lakenheath were:

The squadron markings consisted of alternating stripes across the tailfin in squadron colours, with a shadowed "V" shaped chevron on the nose. Starting in March 1970, squadron tail codes (shown above) were added when the aircraft went from a natural finish to a Southeast Asian camouflage motif.

The period between 1972 and 1977 can be described as a five-year aircraft conversion. Beginning in late 1971, the 48th TFW started its conversion to the McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II, with the aircraft being transferred from the 81st TFW at RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk. The conversion to the F-4D took several years, with the last F-100 departing in August 1974. With the arrival of the Phantoms, the F-4s adopted a common tail code of "LK". This tail code lasted only a few months as in July and August 1972 the 48th TFW further recoded to "LN". The F-4D carried squadron identifying fin cap colours of blue, yellow and red (492d, 493d, 494th respectively).

A fourth fighter squadron, the 495th Tactical Fighter Squadron was activated with the 48th TFW on 1 April 1977, with a squadron tail colour of green. This was 33 years to the day since the squadron's inactivation. The 495th's mission of functioning as a replacement training unit for the other three fighter squadrons. This made the 495th and the 48th TFW unique, as the only WSO (Weapons System Operator) training unit for USAFE.

F-111s from the 48th TFW participated in 1986 United States bombing of Libya in 1986. This bombing of Libya prompted the mock-acronym, 'Lakenheath Is Bombing Your Ass'. During the operation one F-111 from Lakenheath was shot down by Libyan forces and the two crew members were killed. The Libyan government eventually returned one of the bodies.

Lakenheath received its first McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagles in 1992. With the departure of the F-111s, the 495th FS was inactivated on 13 December 1991. On 18 December 1992, the last F-111 departed the base. Along with its departure, the 493d FS was also inactivated.

With the pending closure of Bitburg Air Base in Germany on 25 February 1994, it was decided to reactivate the 493d as an F-15C/D squadron. Aircraft were transferred from the 33d Fighter Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida, and the 493d was reactivated on 1 January. The 493d's arrival meant that the 48th became the largest F-15E/F-15C composite unit in the U.S. Air Force.

In 2003, the 48th FW received the first of ten new F-15Es. The aircraft were part of the final batch of F-15s expected to be ordered by the Air Force.

On 2 March 2011, members of the 48th Security Forces Squadron were involved in a shooting at Frankfurt Airport in Germany. The members were on a bus bound for Ramstein Air Base in Germany when they were attacked by a lone gunman.[12]

On 22 March 2011, F-15E 91-0304 crash-landed and was destroyed in eastern Libya after reportedly suffering from a mechanical failure. Both crewmen ejected and were safely recovered.[13] On 7 January 2014, a Sikosrsky HH-60 Pave Hawk from the base crashed following a bird strike while on a low-level training exercise with another helicopter (also a Pave Hawk), into the Cley Marshes near Cley next the Sea on the nearby North Norfolk coast. All four occupants died in the crash.[14][15]

On 8 October 2014, F-15D 86-0182 belonging to the 493d Fighter Squadron crashed during a training flight in a field outside Spalding, Lincolnshire. The pilot successfully ejected and was shortly recovered back to Lakenheath on board a Pave Hawk.[16]

The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath is the Statue of Liberty Wing, the only USAF wing with both a number and a name. Since activation at Chaumont-Semoutiers AB, France, on 10 July 1952, Liberty Wing has been one of the premier fighter wings of the United States Air Forces in Europe, spending over 50 years as part of USAFE. The 48 FW has nearly 5,700 active-duty military members, 2,000 British and U.S. civilians, and includes a Geographically Separate Unit (GSU) at nearby RAF Feltwell.

RAF Lakenheath and its sister base RAF Mildenhall are the two main U.S. Air Force bases in United Kingdom, and 48th Fighter Wing is the only U.S. Air Force F-15 fighter wing in U.K. and also in Europe.

A 492d Fighter Squadron F-15E Eagle from Lakenheath lifts off from the airfield's runway

The F-100 is displayed on a permanent stand. It was the second aircraft to represent the Liberty Wing. It flew for the 48th Fighter Wing between 1956 and 1972 before it was replaced by the F-4 Phantom.

In January 2015, the US Department of Defense announced that from 2020, Lakenheath would become home to 54 of the US Air Force's Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II multi-role fighters.[20][21] The aircraft would be split between two squadrons and there would be an increase of 1,200 military personnel and between 60-100 civilian workers at the station. The F-35's would operate alongside the existing F-15 squadrons based at Lakenheath.[22]

To accommodate the new aircraft a F-35 Campus is to be constructed which will include a maintenance facility, two six-bay hangers, a 42 space aircraft parking apron and a flight simulator building to accommodate six simulators as well as other maintenance support facilities. Living accommodation for 144 personnel would also be constructed.[23] Investment of $148.4 million (£116.7M) for the infrastructure project was authorised by the US administration in August 2018.[24]

RAF Lakenheath's gate guardian is North American F-100D Super Sabre, serial number '54-2269'. The aircraft was originally delivered to the French Air Force. On return it was moved to the "Wings of Liberty Memorial Park" at RAF Lakenheath. Firstly it was painted as '55-4048', latterly as '56-3319'.[25]

Fletcher, Harry R. (1989) Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN0-912799-53-6